Sides

Raise your hand if you grew up loving a giant, moist, bakery style muffin for breakfast! I’m currently raising a hand while typing this, if you’re wondering. Ever since I was little, I’ve enjoyed a nice, fresh muffin over a donut any day. Something about a moist bottom layer paired with an even better cloud of yumminess pillowing over the top really made my brain happy. As you can probably tell, my obsession continues to this very day 😉

My favorite muffins were always of the butterscotch and lemon variety, but I was feeling ~zesty~ and decided to tackle the lemon side of things first. Here I present you with a healthy, plant-based take on a moist, fluffy, and most importantly, satisfying muffin to fill the gaping, muffin-shaped hole in my heart.

COZY… that’s the word I’d use to describe this vegan split pea stew. It’s the kind of thing you’d want to pour a big bowl of to enjoy sitting next to the fireplace, alongside a mug of tea while you binge watch Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix… Okay, maybe I’m being a BIT dramatic. But if you do end up doing that, please let me know.

Some of the things to LOVE about this dish:

It’s…

Cheap (as in you can make a huge batch and not have to pay for lunches for the next week)

Versatile (as in you can pour it in a bowl and call it a meal, OR you can serve alongside rice green/greens/other veggies)

Easy-to-make (and only uses ~ONE POT~) Minimal cleanup required makes me a very happy lady. Aren’t you just smiling at the thought of only washing one pot… I know you are 😉

In this dish I used a variety of veggies (because, duh), and you could really add whatever vegetable you have on hand that you think would fit the flavor profile.

Let’s Talk about SPUDS:

The the particular vegetable that you could especially experiment with is the sweet potato. Potato in this vegan split pea stew acts a thickener, while also providing for greater satiation.

I chose to use peeled white sweet potato because I thought the added sweetness would pair well with the peas. In order to keep the color normal-looking, I went with a white variety of sweet potato (An orange one may make it look kind of icky, but it would taste great regardless).

However, you’re really welcome to use any kind of potato (Russet, Yam, Red, Fingerling…no discrimination here). I’m sure it will be delicious either way.

Peeling the potato first will led to a creamier final result, but is by no means required (just make sure you wash it well if you leave the skin on). Let me know in the comments section if you did make any substitutions, and share how it worked out!

Another quality I enjoy about this stew is its thickness. Personally, I don’t feel particularly satiated after even the largest bowls of a thin, watery soup. The fact that this is a thick, hearty, STEW makes me feel completely satisfied if it’s all I’m having for a meal. My favorite method of serving is pairing the stew with some fresh greens and brown rice… Mmmm here I am drooling just thinking about it!

If you do happen to prefer a thinner soup, or you’re serving it as an appetizer and need something lighter, feel free to add more water or vegetable broth to the pot. The choice is yours!

Add celery to pot, and cook (covered) until all the veggies are fully cooked (20-30 minutes).

Add 1-2 cups water to the pot. Use an immersion blender to blend (Leave as many chuncks as desired). If you don’t have an immersion blender, blend about half the soup in a blender, then pour it back into the pot.

Let simmer on low for 1-2 hours, until it has reached desired thickness and the peas are fully cooked. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

PURPLE CAULIFLOWER… that’s how this recipe started out. I was toodling about my local grocery store a few days ago and knew this cauliflower had a future in my kitchen.

There are so many things that are lovely about this recipe, my favorite of which is that it uses ingredients I always have on hand, and you can use whatever vegetables are in your house (Or, in my case whatever veggies call to you in the supermarket).

In general, I try to use minimal oils in my food when making food at home. A lot of roasted veggie how-to’s call for oil as a main ingredient, so I wanted to find an alternative that could pack just as much yummy flavor without using all of the oil. To start out, cut and chop ANY veggies of your choosing. Simply add them to a large bowl, and set aside temporarily.

The make the coating for these veggies, I simply started out with balsamic vinegar and dijon mustard.

I whisked those together till they were nice and incorporated. Next, I poured my “marinade” over the veggies, and used a spatula to make sure they were all decently coated.

After they were nice and covered in the sauce, I spread them evenly on a baking sheet that I lined with a Silpat (a STAPLE in my kitchen).

I chose to further season these with a light sprinkle of salt and pepper. Then I just popped these in oven, and twenty minutes later had some darn wonderful roasted veggies.

Balsamic-Dijon Roasted Veggies

Recipe Type: Sides

Author: Courtney Ransom

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 4-8

Balsamic-Dijon Roasted Veggies These veggies are roasted without any added oild, but they sure don’t lack flavor! They’d make a perfect side dish for a healthy dinner or a nice addition to any bowl. Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 35 minutes Servings: 4-8

Ingredients

2-3 pounds of fresh veggies*

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1-2 tbsp. dijon mustard**

Salt and pepper (optional, to taste)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 415 degrees farenheit.

Chop vegetables and put in a large bowl. Set the bowl aside.

Whisk together the vinegar and mustard. Pour over the bowl of veggies and mix until all of the vegetables are equally coated.

Spread the vegetables on a baking sheet evenly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired.

Put the baking sheet in the oven. After 10 minutes, take the baking sheet out of the oven and flip/mix the vegetables. Make sure they’re spread back out, and put them in the oven for another 10 minutes.

Serve warm as they come out of the oven or make ahead and serve cold. Enjoy!

Notes

*Be wary of the cooking times of the vegetables. Starchier veggies (like potatoes) will need to cook longer than more cruciferous veggies (like broccoli).[br][br]**You can add/subtract the mustard depending on how much you enjoy mustard. Not sure why you’d be looking at this recipe if you didn’t like mustard at all, but if you’re not a huge fan, don’t add as much.

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Let me know if you make this, and tell me how you like it! Tag me on Instagram @cookwithcourt and #cookwithcourt

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